Is the show CSI technically accurate?

Cafe Society
1

I’ve been watching a lot of episodes of CSI lately. I came to wonder if the technical aspects, which to me are the reason to watch this show, are correct according to how crime scene inspectors work and, of course, if they are correct by themselves.

I mean, it really does seem like the scripåt writers put down some work into getting their facts straight, but you never know.

2

The only thing I can say is that there aren’t actually easily searchable databases for toe prints, nostril cavity size, or whatever clue-of-the-week item they can just scan in and dig around for.

3

Real CSI techs don’t question suspects.

4

I’m pretty sure they turn on the lights when they enter the room. There was also an episode where Grissom called a crow bar a tire iron. CSI is entertaining but is a pipe dream as far as reality is concerned.

5

Very NO.

Search for past threads on this subject.

6

My usual favorites

Instant DNA analysis - Not weeks, not days, but mere hours

Digital cameras that sound like professional 35 mm mechanisms when taking shots

When video footage is magnified resolution and clarity magically increase exponentially

Witnesses will lie repeatedly and never get cited for perjury

My favorite in this respect re improbable equipment was Miami CSI where they had a snippet of an engine sound on some tape recording and upon returning to their billion dollar collection of equipment began using a vast and comprehensive computerized data base of all the engine sounds of every car sold in the US (or possibly every car ever made).

7

I have a friend who actually does this work for a local police department, and have discussed this with him.

He said that they don’t actually lie, but sure do leave some misleading impressions on that show (or shows).

  • that every test has a quick, decisive result. Many tests take days or weeks to get results. And in his work, over half the tests are “inconclusive” – don’t prove anything one way or another. Not surprising, given the small samples & contamination often present in crime scenes.
  • that typical police labs have banks of expensive, modern machinery just waiting to process tests. He says working with old, even obsolete equipment, over-worked machines, with delays & backlogs of tests, is much more common.
  • that they perform many,many tests on the average run-of-the-mill case. Most police labs are very overworked, and most cases are readily solved without needing much lab work.
  • that these lab tests are free. Many of them are actually fairly expensive to do, and police labs have tight budgets. This is a big issue. There are often ‘discussions’ about whether this particular test is needed, and will it make a difference in court.

The major falsehood from these shows was already mentioned – that CSI techs go out and do field work, question suspects, interview witnesses, etc. As he said, crime labs are where they put the cops whose ‘people skills’ are so bad the chief doesn’t want them to ever encounter a member of the public (except as a corpse).

P.S. He did mention a problem that these type of shows are causing: they are influencing juries in real court cases to expect what they see on TV shows. They expect an absolute statement “it’s a match” like they see on these shows, while real lab tests usually say something like “there is a 92% probability that the fibers found on the body match those in the carpet on the floor of the defendant’s car”. Juries think that is weak or tentative evidence, when it’s actually fairly strong. But it isn’t what they see on TV.

8

Neat post, t-bonham.

I second that “NO”. :slight_smile: However, and no offense intended, have you ever tried searching on a three-word string like “CSI”? As it happens I have some Cafe Society threads bookmarked, and here are three that may pertain to this discussion.
CSI Ruined! [Nov 2001]
Why I hate CSI [Sep 2004]
CSI question: why is it always so dark? [Dec 2005]
What the heck, here’s the rest of them.

Who’s watching CSI? [Oct 2001]
CSI: The TV show [Nov 2001]
C.S.I. - enough with the gory stuff [Mar 2003]
Does anyone else watch CSI:Miami but not CSI? [May 2003]
CSI 30-Oct-03: The Unsound and the Furry [Oct 2003]
CSI Thursday, 10-9-03 (spoilers) [Oct 2003]
CSI 11/6: Or, I Almost Threw Up During the Opening Sequence [Nov 2003]
Just why don’t people like David Caruso? [Nov 2003]
Does anyone in the world LIKE clowns? [Mar 2004]
CSI fans - No More Sara And Nick? [Jul 2004]
Question about the CSI premiere [Sep 2004]
Spoil CSI 10/14 for me [Oct 2004]
Match the CSI Spinoff with The Who Songs [Nov 2004]
CSI: Hogwarts (Harry Potter Spoilers) [Nov 2004]
CSI: Vegas - catch me up, please [Jan 2005]
CSI rerun last night: what crime HAS been committed? [Feb 2005]
CSI 1/17, or I just have to talk about this episode (SPOILERS) [Feb 2005]
Csi 4/21 [Apr 2005]
Csi 4-14 [Apr 2005]
Dumb CSI question [Apr 2005]
Csi - 5/19 [May 2005]
CSI Season Finale thoughts? [Spoiler discussion] [May 2005]
CSI 10/20: Gumdrops [Oct 2005]
CSI 11/10, A Bullet Runs Through It [Nov 2005]
CSI 11/3 (unboxed spoilers) [Nov 2005]
CSI: 12/08/05 “Still Life” [Dec 2005]

Yeah, I watch the show occasionally. :rolleyes:

9

Wow, thank you for all the links, plankter . I’m a novice with forum search engines, and looking for “CSI” gave me nothing as it was too short of a word.

Back to watching the show now. With the information from straightdope I take their methods with some grains of salt, but it’s still very entertaining and intelligent.